Chapter 32: Where Are My Things? The Treasure Maze!

Lin Mu changed into a set of cool, lightweight clothes and, shovel in hand, relentlessly tossed garbage into the small black hole.

“That’s what you get for not being able to absorb things automatically—I’ll shovel, I’ll shovel!”

After ten minutes, Lin Mu put down his shovel. Many items were simply too large to scoop up, so he had no choice but to throw them in by hand.

Beside him, Unit 001 showed no sign of fatigue, maintaining a steady pace. No matter how heavy the object, it only took one shovelful.

“Heh, bet you didn’t expect this—I have a robot!”

Although he wouldn’t reach a haul of a million materials, gathering tens of thousands shouldn’t be a problem.

Another ten minutes passed, and a wooden resource chest appeared before his eyes.

Lin Mu hesitated, debating whether or not to open it. He had wanted to put the chest in his backpack, but it simply wouldn’t fit.

Either he left now, or he opened it.

“What’s there to be afraid of? I have a pistol, after all.”

He loaded his gun and released the safety. Giving the chest a sharp rap, he immediately stepped back.

The chest opened to reveal materials inside—no beasts or anything of the sort.

After stowing the items, he continued collecting more.

Every moment was a race against the clock as Lin Mu hurled junk from the scrapyard into the black hole.

In the meantime, the recycling device kept sending information, though he couldn’t see it.

[Ding! Successfully recycled various wood products x584, obtained wood x5840]

[Ding! Successfully recycled miscellaneous items x232, obtained gasoline 112L]

[…]

Lin Mu glanced at the time. Only ten minutes remained.

“At last, it’s nearly over.”

He sat down, intending to rest for a bit. No sooner had he settled than he spotted, a dozen meters away, a blind box marked with a question mark.

Damn! What luck!

He jumped to his feet and ran over. As he reached the blind box, a sphere of light appeared before him.

Gun at the ready, Lin Mu gripped the pistol in his right hand. He knew blind boxes rarely contained danger, but still, he habitually kept his weapon drawn. This was outside the vehicle, after all—no harm in being cautious.

He poked the sphere of light.

“Where’s my stuff? Where’s my reward from the sphere?”

There was only a faint pop, and nothing else.

At that moment, a voice echoed from the sky.

[Congratulations to the anonymous player for activating the Snowy Treasure Maze for 24 hours. In one hour, all players will be teleported into the maze. Within the maze, players may obtain far more resource chests than on the highway, but may also encounter beast attacks and unknown disasters. All players, please exercise caution.]

Lin Mu looked up at the sky, then down at his hand.

Could the sphere of light he’d just touched have been this maze?

No way…

He’d opened so many blind boxes before and never encountered anything like this.

Where was his reward? Was this all?

Hopefully, as the voice promised, there would be plenty of resource chests inside, or this would be a huge loss.

“001, back to the car.”

No sooner had he climbed inside than a flash of white light enveloped him, and Lin Mu found himself once more on the snowy highway.

“In just one hour, we’ll be teleported to that so-called maze. Even if I drive forward now, there won’t be any resource chests to find.”

With that in mind, there was no point in driving.

“001, do some—never mind, just keep yourself busy.”

“Understood, Master.”

Lin Mu adjusted his seat to a comfortable angle and reclined.

He opened the regional chat. The number of participants had dropped again, though not by much.

The messages in the chat were exactly as he’d expected.

“Argh! Who’s the idiot who triggered the Snowy Maze this time?!”

“What’s wrong with that? The maze is full of resource chests—perfect for replenishing our supplies. Ever since someone mentioned seeing another vehicle on the road, I haven’t found a resource chest in two days.”

“You’re not even mentioning the danger! Didn’t you hear them say there’ll be beasts and disasters in there?”

“Danger and opportunity always go hand in hand. Isn’t it the same now?”

“…”

Some thought it was a good thing, others disagreed. That didn’t matter.

What did matter was—why was everyone cursing him?

Sure, last time he’d joined in cursing the one who triggered the fog, but…

Forget it.

He glanced at the world channel—many there were cursing, too.

Best to just ignore it. Out of sight, out of mind.

He opened the team information panel, and his eyes widened instantly.

[Handsome Squad (1/30)] First Place—Score: 17,652.

[Invincible Squad (10/30)] Second Place—Score: 5,112.

…

When had he accumulated so many points?

He quickly checked the panel. The items he’d just collected from the junk—no, treasure—site had already begun to be dismantled. And the process was ongoing; after all, these were materials gathered over three hours, and much remained to be broken down.

[Ding! Successfully recycled electronic products x121, obtained plastic x55, iron ingot x23, silver ingot x2, gold ingot x1, electronic components x344]

Lin Mu raised his eyebrows. The numbers were even better than he’d imagined.

No wonder—an extra 50%. Not bad at all.

[Ding! Successfully recycled worn clothing x98, obtained fabric x765, cotton x213, plastic x5]

Success notifications kept appearing.

Watching his inventory of materials soar, Lin Mu realized he’d never use it all.

Wood was by far the most abundant—over 6,000 units, occupying seven slots in his backpack.

Luckily, each slot could stack up to 999. If it were only 99, his 200 slots would never be enough.

It seemed upgrading the vehicle core was paramount.

He couldn’t help but think of the upcoming Snowy Maze. The chances of encountering other vehicles would likely increase. If he could…

If he could tie up three more players, heh heh…

The thought made Lin Mu all the more pleased—any chest would yield four times the loot.

As for food?

That was hardly a concern.

…

When the hour was up, countless pillars of light lit up across the planet.

In a flash, Lin Mu found himself inside a maze.

Under the sunlight, the ground and walls reflected a dazzling white glare.

He immediately put on his sunglasses.

When he’d first acquired them, he’d thought they were useless, but as soon as the snowy weather hit, they proved indispensable.

Especially on bright, snowless days—these sunglasses were a godsend.

With them, Lin Mu could clearly see the maze’s paths.

The ground was packed snow, smooth and slick—vehicles without snow chains would struggle to move.

Fortunately, the workbench had snow chains available, and he’d even crafted some himself using his modification skills.

The walls on either side were made of ice and snow. Lin Mu drew his long blade and slashed at one; ripples spread across the surface.

“So, they don’t want us breaking anything,” he muttered, a little disappointed.

He’d been planning to use his modification skills to make a demolition tool.

But apparently, that idea had been nipped in the bud.